Various methods are presently available to defrost frozen food items. However, these presently available methods to defrost food items generally suffer from certain drawbacks. As an example, frozen food items can be left on a countertop for an extended period of time in order to thaw the food items. While exposed to ambient conditions on the countertop, the food items can enter a food “danger zone” and harmful bacteria can grow within the food items. As another example, frozen food items can be heated in a microwave appliance operating a relatively high frequency [e.g., between 915 and 2450 megahertz (MHz)] in order to thaw the food items. However, heating the food items within the microwave appliance can also partially cook the food items and can negatively affect the taste or texture of the food items. As yet another example, frozen food items can be placed within a fresh food chamber of a refrigerator appliance in order to thaw the food items. Defrosting food items within the fresh food chamber can be time consuming and inconvenient.
Certain items exist for facilitating thawing within a refrigerator appliance. Generally, such items supply additional heat to a portion of the refrigerator appliance in which frozen food items are placed. This additional heat may serve to accelerate the food items. However, such systems are often inefficient. The supply of heat is not narrowly tailored to the food items to be thawed. Moreover, supplying the correct amount of heat is often difficult. Excessive heat may begin cooking the food items, negatively affecting taste or texture. Insufficient heat may fail to adequately thaw the food items, or may take an undesirably long time to completely defrost the food items. If heat is localized to an area too small for the item being defrosted, thawing may be non-uniform.
Accordingly, a refrigerator appliance having features for conveniently defrosting frozen food items would be useful. In particular, a refrigerator appliance that could selectively vary defrosting would be useful.